"As" and meaning

What did he watch as she worked? The first sentence does not say that he was watching her, but the second sentence does.

King Neptune said:

What did he watch as she worked? The first sentence does not say that he was watching her, but the second sentence does.

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To me, it means that he watched her as she worked.

They are four and five-word sentences in isolation. No, there's no difference really if you mean that he is watching her as/while/at the same time as she works but context should clarify exactly what is meant.

The main issue with 'as' is folk using it in such a way that it reverses the correct sequence of events- e.g.,. John jumped back as a truck whizzed around the corner, nicking the pavement.

The first expresses two actions acting within the same thought. In the right context, it can mean he's watching as she's working, but not necessarily watching her work. Can be called filtering in the right context.
The second expresses that he's watching her work. Is filtering.

NRoach said:

To me, it means that he watched her as she worked.

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This is another example of where we may need context. He may be watching a baseball game, as she works assiduously at perfecting her interdimensional transporter.

There's no 'may' about it.

Context is always the missing and most important factor when folk insist upon asking for guidance on tiny/out-of-context/made up snippets.

=King Neptune;9066289]This is another example of where we may need context. He may be watching a baseball game, as she works assiduously at perfecting her interdimensional transporter.

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King Neptune said:

This is another example of where we may need context. He may be watching a baseball game, as she works assiduously at perfecting her interdimensional transporter.

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That's an extreme example, and I recognise it as such, but I think the number of sentences in which that need be specified is pretty small.
This is not something that confusion in most people, even in the absence of context.

Thank you for the clarification. In that case both sentences strike me as a tad clunky.

If the fact he is watching her is important, why not say what she does?

If it's in his POV it's obvious that he is watching because if he wasn't you couldn't mention what she was doing.

evangaline said:

To clarify: The MC is in a diner. He ordered breakfast from a waitress, and then she walked away. Thus, the next sentence: He watched as she worked the counter VS He watched her work the counter

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evangaline said:

He watched as she worked the counter VS He watched her work the counter

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Even given the sketchy context, they mean pretty much the same thing. Readers aren't going to parse and examine each word in relation those surrounding to agonize over meaning. In this isolated case, neither should you.

NRoach said:

That's an extreme example, and I recognise it as such, but I think the number of sentences in which that need be specified is pretty small.

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I deliberately used an extreme example, because I have no idea how much connection there is between the two without knowing what she is doing and what he is watching. I have seen sentences where two different and unconnected activities were mentioned together either for humor or for emphasis.

This is not something that confusion in most people, even in the absence of context.

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In context there may be no confusion, but the example that I used could fit in this spot, or their activities could be intimately connected. He could be watching as she works on cornrowing her hair. (It was difficult, but I kept it clean.)

evangaline said:

To clarify: The MC is in a diner. He ordered breakfast from a waitress, and then she walked away. Thus, the next sentence: He watched as she worked the counter VS He watched her work the counter

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I'd use the latter.

Yes, there is a difference in meaning. And yes, usually the context clarifies what is intended by each sentence.

He watched as she worked.

Two actions occurring simultaneously. The 'as' simply indicates the time relation of the actions, not any other relation. Often there is another relation, implied by the context, but not necessarily, as others have said.

He watched her work.

One action (the watching). The relation between the watching and the work is that of verb and object. This sentence specifies what he is watching.

evangaline said:

On a strictly technical note, however, is there a difference between the two or is the meaning always predicated on what occurred before?

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Using "as" in a situation like that connects things a little. Consider one of the other ways you could express it:
He watched her while she worked. I think that's what you want to get across, but you wanted to avoid using all the words.

For what it may be worth, I wonder if the fact he watched her is of any significance?

If it isn't, I wonder why you mention it at all.

But if it is, if you showed us what it was that she was doing that interested him the 'watching' could be more meaningful.

Just mentioning. Good luck.

evangaline said:

Thank you, girlyswot and King Neptune. You've made it much clearer!

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King Neptune said:

I deliberately used an extreme example, because I have no idea how much connection there is between the two without knowing what she is doing and what he is watching. I have seen sentences where two different and unconnected activities were mentioned together either for humor or for emphasis.

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If the two activities were different and unconnected, then that fact would be made clear in the sentence.

One can tear apart ambiguity in the vast majority of sentences, but that doesn't necessarily mean one should, because there's the common assumption that the two things are related, unless otherwise stated.

NRoach said:

If the two activities were different and unconnected, then that fact would be made clear in the sentence.

One can tear apart ambiguity in the vast majority of sentences, but that doesn't necessarily mean one should, because there's the common assumption that the two things are related, unless otherwise stated.

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Yes, and just because one can do something doesn't mean that one should.

Bufty said:

They are four and five-word sentences in isolation. No, there's no difference really if you mean that he is watching her as/while/at the same time as she works but context should clarify exactly what is meant.

The main issue with 'as' is folk using it in such a way that it reverses the correct sequence of events- e.g.,. John jumped back as a truck whizzed around the corner, nicking the pavement.

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This.

The "rule" (Guideline) against using 'as' too often is not about the word itself, but the bad habit of using it to imply that two actions happened simultaneously, when, in fact, one action caused the other.

In the above example, the word "as" literally means that John jumped back at the same time that a truck came around the corner, but the two actions are unrelated. If he jumped back because the truck was coming at him, then the truck turned the corner first, and seeing it coming at him caused John to jump back. They didn't happen at the same time.

That's when you should avoid "as."